When she walked back to me, she had a tube of ointment in hand. Her shoulders were tense, and her gaze firm as she made up her mind. She still had a limp in her step and a thought crossed my mind. A terrible thought, one I didn’t think could be possible. If he had easily slapped her outside, what happened behind closed doors?
When she got to me, she squeezed a bit of the ointment onto her finger. I felt a jolt of pain as her finger prodded a bruise. In a flash, I grabbed her hips and threw her down onto the bed. Her dress rode up but my mind wasn’t on that. All thoughts of being close to her had scattered in the wind. I needed to check, I needed to know.
My suspicions were confirmed as I was met with smooth skin marked with bruises. New dark purple bruises lay on top of older yellowing ones. My heart dropped into my stomach. Scrapes and cuts started on her legs and ran all the way up her thighs. I had a suspicion they went higher.
“What are you doing?!” She hissed. Her eyes darted to the bolt on the door to confirm that it was locked. “Who do you think you are?! You don’t get to touch me like this. I am not yours to force down!”
Her frail hands pushed at my chest but I held firm. I didn’t budge as I unbuttoned the top of her dress. There were more bruises just below the collar, big angry ones. Her balled fists hit my chest and cheek as she fought me. Tears of shame filled her eyes as she cried. I was comforted by the strength of her emotion. I liked seeing the fire in her eyes, it meant she was still in there, he hadn’t broken her yet. As much as these bruises showed he had tried, he hadn’t succeeded. They came together to tell a story, a story I knew all too well.
“Get off, get off of me!” The anger melted to sadness and I obeyed. The second I released her she was on her feet.
“Why?” She asked. Her fingers shook as she rebuttoned her dress and smoothed down her skirt. “Why did you do that?”
“I had a suspicion and I had to check. I didn’t think first, I just had to know,” I said.
“Don’t you know you’re not supposed to force a lady?”
“I do, I wasn’t forcing you. I was seeing to something and now I’ve confirmed it.”
“Who asked you?! I don’t even know you, I didn’t ask for your pity!” She cried. The tears were spilling down her cheeks now with a passion, as if angry with their owner.
“I wasn’t pitying you, Adealine. I was checking if you were okay.”
“Save it. I don’t need you or anyone else to check on me,” she seethed. She looked like a fluffed-up spitting kitten. One that was on the defense, her hair standing on end, her little fangs bared, and her claws ready to pierce.
“Everyone needs someone,” I soothed. I offered her my hand as she eyed it suspiciously.
“Well, I don’t. I don’t need anyone. No one does anything without expecting something in return. Everyone wants something,” she insisted.
I knew she was lying, that she didn’t mean it. She reminded me of a younger me, when I still begged for help. I could almost hear her resolve start to crumble.
“Not me. I don’t want anything,” I said.
Maybe it was the innocence of youth, an innocence I no longer possessed but harnessed at this moment. I didn’t want her to hurt or be afraid of me, I didn’t want her to be scared and alone. I wanted her to have someone. I wanted to be her someone. The person she came to when things were rough. If that’s what she needed, I wouldn’t try to be anything else. Slowly, she lifted her hand. Taking a step toward me, she took my hand. I pulled her close and she let me guide her down into my lap.
As I rubbed her back, she collapsed into my arms, leaning into my chest. Her shoulders shook as her tears flowed. I wrapped my arms around her to protect her. I held her as she cried. I wasn’t worthy of her but I was selfish and I wanted her. I wanted this girl to want me by her side. I wanted to be the person she looked to for comfort. This may be the only moment I have with her and even then I would take it.
“No one has to know, let it all out. This can be our little secret.”
It was meant to reassure her. She lifted her chin, eyes searching for mine until they met. My hand slid down her arm comforting in an attempt to soothe her.
“Whenever father is angry, he hurts me. It doesn’t even take much, anything and everything sets him off. When he beat you today… that was because of me. I was informed of my intended. We’re wolves, we have mates, we have love and happiness. We have hope that we may one day find our mates, our life partner. He’s taken away my right to choose,” Adea cries.
At the mention of her mate I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, my heart drops into the lowest pit of my stomach, and an anger I haven’t felt surges through my body. I don’t want her to be with anyone else. Just the thought of the Moon Goddess making someone for her has me chomping at the bits. I don’t know how I keep my anger to myself, but what she needs at this moment is my full attention. As much as I want to tell her I’ll be here for her, it’s not what she needs right now. Even if I had the courage to tell her, I doubt she would want to be with me anyway.
“I don’t get to have any of that. He had the audacity to tell me that not everyone finds their mate. That he’s set me up with someone strong, worthy, and deserving of our bloodline. I’ll be the pride of our pack, I’ll bring financial gain, and raise our social standing. As if I cared about any of those things! All I’ve looked forward to is turning of age and finding my mate. I have one thing, only one thing to look forward to. None of these benefits are for me. This pack isn’t even mine and it will never be mine. Now I’ll never get to meet him. I have nothing and I’ll never get to be happy.”